Method of knitting fabric with vari-colored pattern



Feb. 13, 1962 E. D. ESTEPHANIAN ETAL 3, 0,740

METHOD OF KNITTING FABRIC WITH VARI-COLORED PATTERN Filed NOV. 15, 1959 INVENTORS ESTEPHAN D. ESTEPHANIAN KENNETH V. PACKARD ROBERT L. CLOUTHIER EDWARD J. BOUTILLETTE ATTOR N EYS United States Patent Ofiice Patented Feb. 13, 1962 3,020,740 METHOD OF KNITTING FABRIC WITH VARI-COLORED PATTERN Estephan D. Estephanian, Worcester, and Kenneth V.

Packard, Robert L. Clouthier, and Edward J. Boutillette, Oxford, Mass, assignors to Knitting Mills, Inc., Manchester, N.H., a corporation of New Hampshire Filed Nov. 13, 1959, Ser. No. 852,870 2 Claims. (Cl. 66-136) This invention relates to a method of knitting a fabric on a full-fashioned knitting machine in such a manner as to form a type of vari-colored pattern which hereto fore could be approximated only by the use of jacquard pattern mechanism. The method employs the principle of reverse plating but applies it to separate individual stitches in such a manner as to make possible a great variety of vari-colored designs. To practice the novel method successfully two different yarns must be fed in close succession to the needles, one of the yarns being resiliently extensible, such as a rubber yarn, the other yarn being substantially inextensible and of smaller diameter, such as nylon yarn. To lay these yarns properly, a carrier having two guide tubes, one for each yarn, is employed. As hereinafter described, these yarns are laid in the throats of the sinkers by the usual travel of the carrier so that the two yarns are laid in the same order in the throats of successive sinkers, which are at once advanced in succession to form loops in alternate spaces between the needles. When a stroke of the carrier has been completed, the dividers are advanced to form uniform loops between successive needles. The diiferent tensions on the yarns when the dividers advance cause the two yarns to reverse their relative positions in the throats of the dividers as compared with their positions in the throats of the sinkers. If the yarns are of different colors the colors appear in a regular pattern on the face of the fabric. By using a plurality of yarn carriers selectively put into operation in recurring sequence by the ringless mechanism which is standard equipment for full-fashioned" machines, a great variety of novel color patterns can be formed.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following description thereof, and to the drawing, of which- FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a yarn carrier having two guide tubes;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of a knitting machine, showing a carrier and the tensioning means employed on the yarn which is supplied to the carrier;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary plan view of some needles, sinkers and dividers, showingthe arrangement of the yarns after the sinkers have advanced;

FIGURE 4 shows the arrangement of the yarns after the dividers have advanced; and

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation of a typical sinker.

A double-tube carrier is shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, this carrier being made by securing parts of two ordinary yarn carriers together in such a way that two guide tubes 12 and 14 are at the lower end of the carrier to lay two separate yarns in close succession against the needles 26. The yarn carrier 10 is mounted on a carrier rod 18 by which it is caused to travel back and forth for yarn-laying strokes. The usual full-fashioned knitting machine is provided with a number of carrier rods, one for each carrier, whereby the several carriers can be selectively operated. By using the customary ring less mechanism (not shown) to cause the several carriers to operate in a recurrent sequence and by supplying different colored yarns to the individual carrier tubes, a wide variety of color patterns can be made.

The yarns supplied to the two tubes of any one carrier diifer from each other, one yarn 20 being resiliently extensible, such as rubber, the other yarn 22 being substantially inextensible, such as nylon, rayon, cotton or silk, and being of smaller diameter than the extensible yarn 20. Each yarn is led through customarily tension devices such as those shown at 15, 17 and 19 in FIG- URE 2 by which the yarns are under tension when they emerge from the carrier tubes 12 and 14. Since the yarn carrier travels back and forth along the needles, the rubber yarn will lead when the carrier is moving in one direction and the other yarn will lead when the carrier is moving in the reverse direction so that the rubber yarn will lead the nylon yarn in every other course and the nylon yarn will lead the rubber yarn in the intervening courses.

When the yarns 20 and 22 are laid against the needles by the carrier 10 with the rubber yarn in the lead and the sinkers 24 are advanced in succession to form loops between alternate pairs of needles 26 as illustrated in .FIGURE 3, the ditferences of size of and tension on the two yarns causes the larger rubber yarn 20 to ride above the nylon yarn 22 in the throats 28 of the sinkers. Thus when the yarns at this stage are viewed in plan, as in FIGURE 3, the nylon yarn 22 is beneath and hidden by the rubber yarn 20. When the carrier 10 has completed its run, the dividers 30 are advanced simultaneously to equalize the loops between successive needles as shown in FIGURE 4. When the dividers first engage the yarns as they are shown in FIGURE 3, the rubber yarn is uppermost. As the dividers advance to the position shown in FIGURE 4, the size and elasticity of the rubber yarn cause the yarns to roll in the throats of the dividers so that at those points the nylon yarn is, uppermost. When the needles descend to cast off the previously held loops, the loops turn over so that in the ends of the loops which appear on the upper face of the fabric as it comes from the needles the nylon yarn is uppermost. On the other face of the fabric, which is the front face of the finished fabric, both yarns appear in a regular pattern which is evident when the two yarns are of different colors. In every other course the rubber and nylon yarns appear on the surface in alternate Vs formed by the side portions of the knitted loops in the fabric. In the courses in between, the rubber yarn only appears. This gives the fabric a pattern suggestive of vertical stripes which can be varied by employing a number of carriers with yarns of various colors which can be used selectively to feed yarns to the needles.

We claim:

1. The method of knitting a patterned fabric on a full-fashioned knitting machine having conventional needles, sinkers and dividers, which comprises laying against said needles for each course a resiliently extensible yarn of one color and a smaller inextensible yarn of another color, the extensive yarn leading the inextensible yarn in every other course, the inextensible yarn leading the extensible yarn in the intervening courses, advancing the sinkers successively to form said yarns into loops as they are laid against successive needles, advancing the dividers to equalize the loops, and drawing down the needles to knit the course.

2. The method described in claim 1, plus the step of laying selectively against the needles other pairs of extensible and inextensible yarns of diiferent colors.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,145,522 Tebbutt July 6, 1915 1,666,123 Egan et al. Apr. 17, 1928 FOREIGN PATENTS 16 ,688

Great Britain May 12, 1921 

